St Mary the Virgin, (Eastbourne)

Denomination:

Anglican.

Internet:

Church website.

A Church Near You (Church of England site for this church).

Address:

Church St/Lawns Ave, Old Town, Eastbourne, East Sussex BN21 2PW.

Grid reference: 559800, 99500, View on: Google Maps, Open Street Map, Streetmap, National Library of Scotland Map, Magic Maps

Incumbents:

Church of England Clergy Database.

Registers:

Earliest Register: 1558.

Baptisms:

There are 5232 baptisms in the OPC database.

IGI Batch: C041201 (1558 ~ 1744).

Burials:

There are no burials in the OPC database.

No burial IGI batches known.

Marriages:

There are no marriages in the OPC database.

No marriage IGI batches known.

Monumental inscriptions:

There are 30 monumental inscriptions in the OPC database.

Images:

The old Roughwood Churches Album has images and notes about this church.

There are 18 images of this church in the OPC database.

Building information:

Built: 1190.

Current use: Worship.

Harrison's description (1911):

ST. MARY. Restored 1623, 1844, and 1873. The parish church of Eastbourne is a fine large building with chancel, nave, clerestory and aisles, and is a good example of Tr.-Nor. work, dating from the second hald of the 12th c. The chancel inclines southward and lies below nave, and has a fine arch adorned with zig-zag. Note the foliage on capitals of chancel pillars. The sedilia and piscina on south and the East Sepulchre on north are 14th c. There are also an aumbry and a niche. The E. windows are geometrical; the central one is fine. The staircase to the rood-loft remains. The wooden screens are early Dec. The nave arcade has four bays of original work, the fifth is later. S. aisle (c. 1320) has hood-mouldings to two windows; N. aisle has Perp. windows. Font, tower and window are Perp. Note: masons' and other marks in chancel and on the arches; brasses, without effigies, one to John King, 1445, the other to James Graves, 1647; six medallions in E. window of N. chancel chapel (Gilbert), 15th c., are Flemish work. Six of the bells date from 1651. In 1844 an old stone reredos was found. The vestry at E. end is one of the few old ones in Sussex. A rood-loft piscina (14th c.) with shelf has recently been discovered.

On the N. side of the church are some old cottages, which formed a building supposed to have been the home of some Black Friars. In churchyard is a dilapidated sundial. Beneath the Lamb Inn there is a lofty vaulted chamber, probably part of some religious building.

Documents:

There are no documents about this church in the OPC database. If you have one, please contribute a transcription!

Publications:

There are no books about this church in the Sussex OPC Bibliography.

There are 2 articles about this church in the OPC Sussex Archeaological Collections Index.

Notes:

St Mary's, Old Town is the ancient Parish Church of Eastbourne,and is regarded as the Civic Church. Resting on the slope of the Bourne Stream, building commenced in the twelfth century with Caen stone from Normandy. It was considerably enlarged in the fourteenth century and extensively restored in the nineteenth century.
Source: Church website .

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